One printing system, described in U.S. Pat. Application Ser. No. 631,329, filed Nov. 12, 1975 by Alfred M. Nelson now abandoned, includes a recording head for recording magnetic images on the front face of a magnetic tape. The system also includes apparatus for coating the images with toner, and a transfer station which transfers the toner from the tape to paper or other print medium to form an image on the paper corresponding to the characters formed on the tape. At the transfer station of that system, the tape and paper are held a small distance apart, such as one hundredth inch, while a high voltage is applied between electrodes positioned respectively behind the tape and paper. One problem with the system is that arcing can occur between the electrodes when a high voltage is applied to them, since they are so close together. Another problem is that the toner particles on the paper tend to produce a "halo" effect, wherein a band of toner particles lies about the intended images, or at least about heavily toned regions of the image. Another problem is that it is difficult to maintain the tape and paper a small but accurate distance apart.